Travel Advice - New Travel Document Requirements for U.S.
Citizens Traveling in the Western Hemisphere

For
the last couple of years the U.S. government has been implementing
changes to the rules for the use of passports for travel between the
United States and other countries in what is being called the Western
Hemisphere. At this time, the WHTI covers travel to and from the
United States and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean region (17
nations).

Our article examines when you will
need a U.S. passport or other official document verifying your
citizenship and identity for travel involving the areas covered by
the WHTI.

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004
required travelers to and from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Panama, Mexico
and Canada have a passport or other secure, accepted document to enter
or re-enter the United States.

New Rules and Dates of Enforcement

1.
The WHTI requires that all
air travelers
(including US citizens)
entering the United States from the Caribbean, Canada, Bermuda or Mexico
must present a valid passport. Due to the government's inability
to issue passports in a timely fashion, the passport requirement for air
travelers was delayed and not implemented until January, 2007.

2. The passport requirement for
land or sea
re-entry to the United States, which was to occur on January 31, 2008
was postponed until June 1, 2009 . As it now stands,
those entering or re-entering
the US from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America and
Bermuda,
by land or ship
must present either a passport or other documents deemed acceptable by
the Department of Homeland Security. The best way of crossing the
U.S. border and then re-entering the country is to have a passport and
take it with you when you depart the United States. Two other official
documents are recognized. The first is the new Passport Card,
which we cover
here. The alternative form is a
State or Provincial (Canada) issued enhanced driver's license, a secure
document that will denote both identity and citizenship).

U.S. citizen children aged 16 and younger, who have parental
consent (a notarized document), are allowed to cross land and sea
entry stations with certified copies of their birth certificates in
lieu of a valid passport.

U.S. citizen children, ages 16 to 18, traveling in official,
supervised groups, are allowed to cross border with a certified copy
of their birth certificate.

The exemption described here
does not apply to air travel.

The Western Hemisphere Travel
Initiative is a significant change from prior travel requirements
and affects all United States citizens above the age of 18, who do
not currently possess valid passports. This new requirements will also
affect certain foreign nationals who currently are not required to
present a passport to travel to the United States.

Most Canadian citizens, citizens of
the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, and to a lesser degree, Mexican
citizens (due to the potential use of a proposed Border Crossing Card) will
be affected by the implementation.

The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative does not
affect travel between the United States and its territories. U.S.
citizens traveling between the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa
will continue to be able to use established forms of identification to
board flights and for entry.

If you are a U.S. citizen and considering applying for a passport,
see our article on the process
here.